Need some ro info ,

[Jessie Nicoletti]

i just got my ro system , opened it up to get a idea waht it was like but there are no operateing instructions. it dosent say how fast to turn on the water ect . the only instructions are maitnence related. i dont want to mess it up so i need to know any info that may be helpful. i know to let it run for 10 gallons. also can i mount it on a fileing cabinet ( metal) everything else is stone

[Original Fin]

Use the force

Just kidding. Use Google, it's faster...

http://www.aquarium-supply.biz/v/vsp...CorROwpump.pdf

[Jessie Nicoletti]

thats the same booklet that came with the system i dont see any operating instructions just how to set it up i know to turn on the water and it says dont use cold water but dosent mention how much to turn on the faucet also mine didnt come with a pump do i need one ? also do i need a preasure gage i remeber someone said that you need one for a ro

[Chasman]

Jessie

Looking at the instructions it does show you how to hook it up to faucet. This is fine but it is better if you can hard plumb it. My camera battery is dead right now but in an hour or so I will sent post a pic of the best way to hook one of these things up. Also a MAJOR concern of mine is that based on the instructiosn, this unit is RO only. For an aquarium you should have a Deionizer cartrage. That is the "DI" in a RO/DI unit. Is is a black colored resin that does the final removal of TDS (Total Disolved Salts) If you parted with $180 for this, I would consider returning it and getting one that has the DI component. I know it's a PITA, but you can get a nice filter with the DI resin for less than you paid for this one. Adding a DI unit to this one is doable, but it will set you back another $50 or so. Hopefully the unit you have has a DI cartrage and they didn't include it in the instructions.

The additional pump and pressure guage are not necessary for it to twork.

[Jessie Nicoletti]

Jessie

Looking at the instructions it does show you how to hook it up to faucet. This is fine but it is better if you can hard plumb it. My camera battery is dead right now but in an hour or so I will sent post a pic of the best way to hook one of these things up. Also a MAJOR concern of mine is that based on the instructiosn, this unit is RO only. For an aquarium you should have a Deionizer cartrage. That is the "DI" in a RO/DI unit. Is is a black colored resin that does the final removal of TDS (Total Disolved Salts) If you parted with $180 for this, I would consider returning it and getting one that has the DI component. I know it's a PITA, but you can get a nice filter with the DI resin for less than you paid for this one. Adding a DI unit to this one is doable, but it will set you back another $50 or so. Hopefully the unit you have has a DI cartrage and they didn't include it in the instructions.

The additional pump and pressure guage are not necessary for it to twork.

Coralife (Energy Savers) Pure Flo II 50gpd Ro Unit w/ Post Deion

im pretty sure the last chamber is a deiononization type
for now i am going to hook it up to the faucet but i will ask our plumber if he can hard plumb it im thinking of driling holes into the cement walls to mount it otherwise i am not sure i can find a good place to mount it

[Chasman]

Jessie

Wait just a half an hour if you can so I can show you what the DI part looks like. If you hook it up you own it. Based on the picture you sent it does not have a DI component.

Just trying to save you a buck and get a better piece of equipment.

[Jessie Nicoletti]

what the box says the 3 stages are Coralife (Energy Savers) 1 Micron Cartridge For Reverse Osmosis , carbon cartridge, Coralife (Energy Savers) Mixed Bed Deionization Cartridge , is there another type of deionozation catridge that is needed ?

[Chasman]

OK Jessie

If your unit looks like the first pic, you have a RO/DI unit. If it has only three canisters then it's only an RO unit. Some units mount the fourth canister on the top and it's smaller. But there should be FOUR seperate canisters. The one on the far right is the DI resin. Very important.

The second pic is the gismo you can get at Home Depot to hard plumb it into your line. And that would be the COLD water line.

You do not neet the pressure guage or the TDS meter to make good water. They are just nice to have.

Chasman

[Chasman]

Well maybe they do it differently, and they combine the DI resin in one of the filter cartridges. If that is the case your OK. Whew!!! I've never seen that before.

[Chasman]

Just trying to make sure you didn't get riped off.

[Jessie Nicoletti]

the other 2 produced by coralife dont contain the 3rd chamber with the mixed bed deionozarion cartridge but this one dose the other 50 gpd one has 2 chambers but is 139.99 but it dosent have the deonization stage so yuor saying i dont have to worry much about how fast i let the water come out of the faucet ? thats good now all i have to do is set it up and mount it run it for 10 galons worth or 6ish hours then fill the bucket till about 30 gallons add in salt, wait a day test it for phosphates, nitrates, nitrites ph,, alkalinity, sg, calcium. corect the calcium and alkalinity if need be with suplements ( delaying the water change by 12 hours to mix more). then finaly do the water change and add the ro water

[Chasman]

Run your faucet wide open!!!!!

[MyNameIsJoe]

I agree, run the faucet on high.

"phosphates, nitrates, nitrites ph,, alkalinity, sg, calcium"

Out of those tests, i would hold off on the calcium testing. Also, since your DT Ca is high, I wouldn't dose calcium. Most all salts have calcium, magnesium, and a buffer.

Since this is the first time you are using this ro/di, it's good to test fo PO4's, NO3's, pH, and alkalinity. However, these tests do not need to be done with every water change.

****with every water change you should be testing for SG and temperature.
Every once in a great while you can test the make-up water for those other things, or just test for those things if your DT parameters go crazy. The main things are salinity and temp. The salt will have additives already in it, so don't put additives in your make up water.

Test your DT, after the water change, and correct the DT water.

As far as where you mount the unit, where ever is most convenient for you is the best place. Just make sure that it is secure and wont fall or tip over. A lot of those units are made of hard plastic material, of which small knobs or connectors can easily snap off. With that in mind, be very careful when you are gonna change the filters(down the road).

Glad the unit finally got in.

good luck

[Jessie Nicoletti]

Ok hooked it up finaly ( my mom has been in the hospital with a broken leg so i was kinda pre ocupied.
i hook it up and it starts to leak....... i take the wrench tighten all of the canisters turn it back on still leaks a bit but not bad at all . its a 50 gal per day unit so at 10 pm i should have 10 galons since i hooked it up at 5. that will be dumped out then i will let it run till 2 or 4 pm tomorow i should have 30 galons then add salts ect.. i tested the ro water for phosphates and theres none :-)

btw the mixed bed i asked and it is a mix of everything from what i am to understand mainly carbon and di tho

dose it need to be 100% level or is it ok to lean a tiny tiny bit

[Jessie Nicoletti]

ok so its rated for 50 gal per day and i am useing a 33 gal bucket/pail to store and mix, i started it at 5 pm and it was 1/3rd full at 7 or 8 and that was spilt out as that should of been 10 gallons at 130 the bucket was 2/3rds full again so i stoped it as i cant lift more then this in the pail. added salt about 6 cups maybe a bit more will check salinity and corect in the morning. heres one thing though its rated for 50 gal per day but has already produced 30-40 gallons in 8 hours witch would put the total way over 50 galons a day if left on for 24 hours . is this a issue dose this mean its not working right , or dose mine work faster due to all new cartidges? i plan to use this water on tuesday. can anyone see any harm in adding some hot water to the batch cause it is ice cold i dont think i can make the ro water with hot water it may warp the hoses . i dont have a spare heater and i just got the ro so im taped out for the time being so cant obtain one this week. the only other thing that would increase the tempeture is the powerhead being a old make aquaclear that tend to heat up a bit and time exposed to room tempeture. any ideas/ tips for the time being

[MyNameIsJoe]

You can always take some of the RO water and boil it in a large pot then add that back to your make up water. Just make sure there is no soap residue in the pot that you use. Do not run hot water through your ro/di unit. You can damage it using hot water.

Do not use hot water from the tap. Do not use tap water for anything. Not even for rinsing filters. That would defeat the purpose of the RODI unit.

[Jessie Nicoletti]

the tempeture differency is 68.1 in the ro water and 77.8 in the tank since i will be changeing 20-30 gallons of a 90 gal tank with about a 20 gal sump its about 1/3rd -1/4th the tanks volume being replaced so if i added it slowish would it be ok it should go to 73 degrees till the heaters heat up i think. so is it ok to use this or is it a bad idea and boil a gallon or two and add it back , also i added the salt already so it will boil at a higher temp rite ?

so even adding 1 gal of hot non ro water would ruin a entire batch of ro water even if it is just used to riase the temp

[MyNameIsJoe]

adding non-ro water defeats the purpose of using RO water to begin with. Just boil the made-up ro water to raise the temp. Salt actually lowers the boiling point of water. Therefore the water will boil faster..... boiling the salt water won't ruin it.

[Original Fin]

the tempeture differency is 68.1 in the ro water and 77.8 in the tank since i will be changeing 20-30 gallons of a 90 gal tank with about a 20 gal sump its about 1/3rd -1/4th the tanks volume being replaced so if i added it slowish would it be ok it should go to 73 degrees till the heaters heat up i think. so is it ok to use this or is it a bad idea and boil a gallon or two and add it back , also i added the salt already so it will boil at a higher temp rite ?

so even adding 1 gal of hot non ro water would ruin a entire batch of ro water even if it is just used to riase the temp

Yep, don't add tap to RO. Totally defeats the purpose.

I would find a way to match mix water temp with DT water. Check out craigslist for a used heater. You ought to be able to find one for next to nothing. Just do a keyword search for aquariums. You're looking for someone that's got a bunch of equipment to get rid of. Wouldn't hurt to ask your LFS if they have any used they want to get rid of.

[Jessie Nicoletti]

well i am geting a extra pump and heater on next monday i guess i can try to boil some and add it or what if i put really hot tap water in a hontainer and floated it in the bucket for a while ?